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College Writing I

Style Guide

Where to Look for Help

How Do You Know Which Chicago Style to Use?

Chicago-style source citations come in two types:

notes and bibliography
author-date.

To determine which system to follow the best first step is to check with your professor. However, there are some general rules of thumb.

From the Chicago Manual of Style website:

"The notes and bibliography system is preferred by many working in the humanities—including literature, history, and the arts. In this system, sources are cited in numbered footnotes or endnotes. Each note corresponds to a raised (superscript) number in the text. Sources are also usually listed in a separate bibliography. The notes and bibliography system can accommodate a wide variety of sources, including unusual ones that don’t fit neatly into the author-date system.

The author-date system is more common in the sciences and social sciences. In this system, sources are briefly cited in the text, usually in parentheses, by author’s last name and year of publication. Each in-text citation matches up with an entry in a reference list, where full bibliographic information is provided."

General Rule for the Notes & Bibliography Style

The Notes & Bibliography style is most often used by scholars in the humanities, e.g. history, literature, the arts.

References in the text are indicated by a raised (superscript) number. Citations corresponding to these numbers either appear in either footnotes at the bottom of each page or endnotes at the end of the paper. Footnotes/endnotes may be written in a shortened format.

List all sources at the end of your paper on a new page entitled "Bibliography." Alphabetize the bibliography by author's last name, or by title if a work's author is unknown.

 

For typographic requirements of Chicago Style (margins, spacing, page numbering, etc.) please watch this YouTube video which sets out a very clear description, with examples, of how to do this.

If you cannot access the above video, you can watch it here

Using Author-Date Style

Author-Date style is a more concise format. It is usually used by scholars in the sciences and social sciences.

Provide brief parenthetical citations within the paper (usually the author's last name and publication date).

List full citations at the end of the work in a "Reference List" starting on a new page.

About Turabian

Turabian and Chicago are often regarded as interchangeable. Turabian style was created as a student version of Chicago.

Chicago Style Examples

Cryptids are animals whose existence is disputed.1 Nessie is one example.2 Bigfoot is another cryptid.3


1 Samantha Hurn, ed., Anthropology and Cryptozoology: Exploring Encounters with Mysterious Creatures, Multispecies Encounters (New York: Routledge, 2016), 1, http://www.myilibrary.com?id=968086.&

2 Ed Cray, “Loch Ness Monster,” Western Folklore 18, no. 3 (July 1, 1959): 258, https://doi.org/10.2307/1497725.

3 Ron Westrum, “Sasquatch and Scientists: Reporting Scientific Anomalies,” in Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, ed. Marjorie M. Halpin and Michael M. Ames (Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 1980), 27, https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774857857-006.

Bibliography

Cray, Ed. “Loch Ness Monster.” Western Folklore 18, no. 3 (July 1, 1959): 258–59. https://doi.org/10.2307/1497725.

Hurn, Samantha, ed. Anthropology and Cryptozoology: Exploring Encounters with Mysterious Creatures. Multispecies Encounters. New York: Routledge, 2016. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=968086.

Westrum, Ron. “Sasquatch and Scientists: Reporting Scientific Anomalies.” In Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, edited by Marjorie M. Halpin and Michael M. Ames, 27–36. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press, 1980. https://doi.org/10.59962/9780774857857-006.

Sample Books for Citations

Book

Title: Anthropology and Cryptozoology: Exploring Encounters with Mysterious Creatures

Editor: Samantha Hurn

Publisher: Routledge

Place of Publication: New York

Date of Publication: 2016

Book Section

Chapter Title: Sasquatch and Scientists: Reporting Scientific Anomalies

Chapter Author: Ron Westrum

Book Title: Manlike Monsters on Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence

Book Editors: Marjorie M. Halpin and Michael M. Ames

Publisher: University of British Columbia Press

Place of Publication: Vancouver, BC

Date of Publication: 1980

Pages: 27-36

Journal Article

Article Title: Loch Ness Monster

Author: Ed Cray

Journal Title: Western Folklore

Volume: 18

Issue: 3

Date: 1959

Pages: 258-259